Anime and Philosophy focuses on some of the most-loved, most-intriguing anime films and series, as well as lesser-known works, to find what lies at their core. Astro Boy, Dragon Ball Z, Ghost in the Shell, and Spirited Away are just a few of the films analyzed in this book. In these stories about monsters, robots, children, and spirits who grapple with the important questions in life we find insight crucial to our times: lessons on morality, justice, and heroism, as well as meditations on identity, the soul, and the meaning — or meaninglessness — of life. Anime has become a worldwide phenomenon, reaching across genres, mediums, and cultures. For those wondering why so many people love anime or for die-hard fans who want to know more, Anime and Philosophy provides a deeper appreciation of the art and storytelling of this distinctive Japanese culture.
Anime and Philosophy
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Editorial Reviews
Review
"...favor(s) readability over citations and jargon. I could read articles about films I hadn't seen and still follow the points and description."
-- Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading (March 25, 2010) at comicsworthreading.com
-- Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading (March 25, 2010) at comicsworthreading.com
About the Author
Josef Steiff is the Associate Chair, Film & Video Department, Columbia College, where he teaches courses in science fiction and anime among other topics. He is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Filmmaking, Tristan Tamplin has a Ph.D. in philosophy and is the principal designer at Verso Design Corporation.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Anime and Philosophy: Wide Eyed Wonder is an anthology of essays by learned philosophers discussing the philosophical implications of the animated movies and television shows of Japanese popular culture. From "'Astro Boy' and the Atomic Age" to "Did Santa Die on the Cross?" to "Everything You Never Wanted to Know about Sex and Were Afraid to Watch", these writings explore meanings beneath the surface of this widely beloved art form, which speaks to people so strongly that it has generated a solid international audience. Anime and Philosophy is a long overdue and enthusiastically welcome contribution to philosophy collections, highly recommended to anime enthusiasts and philosophers alike.
By MJS
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've read quite a few books that combine some sort of idea with philosophy and most of them fall short on actual philosophy. This book delivers and in a good way. I ran into it in my professor's office (anime professor, not my philosophy professor) and immediately started reading it, which ended up with me purchasing the book on Kindle when I returned to my room.
This is not a book for an anime lover who doesn't want to have some deep reading about a series. It tackles quite a few genre of anime and what said anime conveys to the public. I do recommend watching at least a few episodes of the anime discussed in the book just so a person's own philosophy can be molded.
The Kindle version is great and adds to my collection nicely. Highly recommended.
This is not a book for an anime lover who doesn't want to have some deep reading about a series. It tackles quite a few genre of anime and what said anime conveys to the public. I do recommend watching at least a few episodes of the anime discussed in the book just so a person's own philosophy can be molded.
The Kindle version is great and adds to my collection nicely. Highly recommended.
By David
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Natural-born philosophers can't seem to enjoy something unless they can really tear it apart for analysis afterwards. This book allows one to do just that with regards to Anime. The essays within hit on many pertinent genres of anime and start posing the questions, and proffering the answers. From a myriad of subjects such as posthumanism, child soldiers, sexuality, evolution, self-improvement and classic good/evil, this book provides easy and entertaining reading for those even mildly familiar with the realms of anime or philosophy.
Now on the anime in question.... I felt it could have been better. There were maybe one too many essays on Ghost in the Shell and posthumanism. As an anime fan I know there's so much more material out there that could be covered, yet I get to the next chapter... and it's posthumanism again. I would also have liked to see a bit more reflections on anime itself as a medium; why draw it that way? Why is it different from other types of cartoons? What makes anime appealing to some, while repulsive to others? What is "bishounen"? Things like that... Oh, well. Maybe it's not too late to start hoping for Vol. 2?
Now on the anime in question.... I felt it could have been better. There were maybe one too many essays on Ghost in the Shell and posthumanism. As an anime fan I know there's so much more material out there that could be covered, yet I get to the next chapter... and it's posthumanism again. I would also have liked to see a bit more reflections on anime itself as a medium; why draw it that way? Why is it different from other types of cartoons? What makes anime appealing to some, while repulsive to others? What is "bishounen"? Things like that... Oh, well. Maybe it's not too late to start hoping for Vol. 2?
Format:Paperback
I have to admit that I never knew anime could be analyzed like a book before I read this book. I'm used to seeing anime and Japanese guides, but I have never seen a book pick apart the philosophy of popular and infamous shows. I've only seen philosophy books analyzing popular culture literature, like Harry Potter, Twilight and Hunger Games. Every article was also very well written and well explained.
I would recommend this to almost anyone, especially to people who think that anime is just for children. Personally I liked how this book covered the over-sexualized animated porn and hentai aspects that most people are uneducated about. I also liked that it also covered a lot of deep technological and body aspects as well. This book also helped me discover some animes I have never heard about and would seriously go watch them.
I would recommend this to almost anyone, especially to people who think that anime is just for children. Personally I liked how this book covered the over-sexualized animated porn and hentai aspects that most people are uneducated about. I also liked that it also covered a lot of deep technological and body aspects as well. This book also helped me discover some animes I have never heard about and would seriously go watch them.
